Rod’s Lamplighter

I’m in love with the Lamplighter.
I was a little dubious when we initially came in – the place is not at all fancy and seems a little patched together. Our server may or may not have been wearing pajamas (which I actually found ridiculously charming) — but the FOOD! Oh the food was FANTASTIC. There was plenty to choose from, even for me, a vegetarian.
We were so enamored, we went back the next evening for drinks. Megan was behind the bar and I was the typical indecisive/​fussy vacationing tourist: she suggested an off-​menu drink of hot chocolate, vanilla vodka, crème de menthe and whipped cream and boy did it hit the spot! I’m hoping that they’ll add it to the menu for the winter months to warm up folks who want something hot and sweet. Grateful to everyone there for our two awesome experiences and can’t wait to go back.

We enjoyed the prices and the food wasn’t bad either. The décor is rundown but it was tolerable. We’ll be back.

Honestly, not matter how good the food is (which the food is always good), it is absolutely ridiculous that we had to wait AN HOUR after we ordered to get our food… Seriously?! A whole freakin hour… The only reason I gave two stars instead of one was because the food is really good. But all the waitress had to say about the wait was, «oh… We have a new cook and people ordered before you»… Um… No. That is not a valid excuse. Ever. Severely disappointed.

Wow! We are regulars who really enjoy the service and food here.
Tonight was very different. Not the norm.
Service was OK. New ladies I haven’t seen here before.
Ordered water with lime to drink. There were black floaties in one of them. Got new water but had to ask for lime.
When we ordered the waitress had taken another tables order for three without writing it down. Then took ours the same way. Way too much opportunity for errors.
We ordered liver and onions, no liver so we ordered the special pork chop dinner with baked potatoes and horseradish.
Meanwhile a big table was told no gravy so had to reorder.
A man had ordered a breakfast but received the dinner portion. Took quite awhile to get it changed over. He had to ask for jelly about half way through. He was not happy!
When we got our order the pork chops were just warm although cooked as we asked. We both got mashed when we ordered baked. It took about 10 minutes to get one baker. No horseradish was brought with dinner so asked for it. Sauce was brought out, not horseradish, another wait.
Waited on water.
There were 22 people there so not really a full house by any means but they get a sub-​par grade from us tonight!

I moved to the the long beach peninsula about 6 months ago and have eaten here one time. When we got there only one waitress was working and no one was there to seat us. I am 20 years old and the rest of my party was 21 and over. The only employee was in the back of the bar area and we walked in and she told us to sit down. After taking our order (we were the only customers) she decided to move us to the back of the restaurant because of my age, which I understood but when we got back to our new table the booth was sticky and the seat flipped when you sat on it. They all had rips and were very low on stuffing. It was very old and outdated in a very bad way. I ordered the spaghetti and it was horrible. It had been cooking for probably two days and was scooped with an ice cream scoop. I don’t even know how to explain it. On our way out they were moving in a pool table and we had to try and squeeze around it to get out the door. Our experience was horrible, maybe everyone else loves it because of the bar but if you’re under 21 and have to sit In the back with no one else it’s not a place for you.

Frickin awesome! Get off the strip n play pull tabs– sing karaōke n be off the grid!

I’m giving this one star for the people watching. If you’re a tourist wanting to inject this local bar with your hard earned cash –don’t. They don’t want your money. They just wanna run their methy-​Cheers, line dance to booty songs, belt out Alt Cuntry ballads with vigor and passion with their tiny little fists clenched, start a bar brawl, knock over some tables and then spend the rest of the night talking about how the fight started.
This is the second time I’ve had a suck experience with the karaōke skank. Last time my husband gave her a sizable tip so that he could sing one more towards the end of the night– which she agreed to. She then ignored him and told him there was no more, after he’d given her money.
Last night, there were hardly any singers by the time we got there and she was using dance song fillers, so I asked politely if I still had time to get a song in. She said karaōke was over, just dancing now. Then she proceeded to call up her girlfriends in her shrill, sugary voice to sing hideous alt country songs. Boooooo, karaōke lady. Obviously the locals run this establishment.
There was a fight, a knock down, large men on the floor (and a woman too) brawl, the likes I’ve previously not experienced so that was entertaining. But watch out, their men will stare at you and then they will glare at you. I’m not looking to steal your giant drunken potbellied redneck, I promise.
I will probably end up here again after being coerced by friends, peer pressured– but I’m sure the experience will be exactly the same– plus or minus a fight…
Oh and the cigarette vending machine only takes $ 12 worth of quarters. 12 dollars. Have fun! Don’t get cut!

Shut up good! This place has your bloody May in the morning waiting for you and lunch and dinner menu to boot… I couldn’t stop coming to this place when we visited simply because they have great food, customer service, and live music only place I would recommend in long beach for a drinker with a kick back fun time attitude. Met great people, had great times… felt a little spoiled by their awesome accommodations. Must go Fo Sho!

My grandparents live in Ocean Park, and they love this place. I thought the food was okay. We stopped and had brunch. I ordered biscuits & gravy with cheesy eggs. The biscuits and gravy tasted a little bit weird, kind of the sweeter side.
The service was amazing! I don’t know if that’s because they know my grandparents in there. But this seems like the kind of place that always has great customer service.

My partner and I were lucky to be able to walk to (and from) the bar from where we were staying and drank accordingly, haha. We both had some good drinks but what stood out was that we had THE best time karaokeing — which we don’t do often because my boyfriend hasn’t had very good experiences in the past (not any more!).
I’m not sure if it is the vacation-​mode vibe the town exudes or that there were a lot of regulars who lived near by, but people were dang fun as the night progressed.
Everyone was participating, dancing to songs, cheering, lots of audience involvement without it being too noisy or awkward — it was just SO much fun! We even made random karaōke friends and talked with lots of strangers (these things are rare for us, we usually keep to ourselves) but the fun vibe was just so infectious!
I gave the Lamplighter 4 stars just because the fries we got were a little «meh» — it’s just a traditional ol’ bar.
Oh – the gal who ran the karaōke that night was also a super talented singer and supremely nice person. The customer service there is great.

Despite the major need for updating, the food is great! Huge portions at a great price, and only $ 1.99 kids meals! Chicken fried steak is the bomb. We’ll be back

The atmosphere is outdated but the staff is friendly, service is fast enough. It looks like the set up has them running around a lot, bar area, outside area, inside seating.
I had fish and chips one night, priced right and tasty. Next day I had a burger that was good. Decent normal food for good prices and not crowded like places closer to Long Beach.

Best place to eat apps and get your drink on! Hot food best wings ! I have had a lot of food on the rock and this place is great!

We stopped in at the Lamplighter for a drink mainly because it was right across the street from the Sou’wester and that was as far as we wanted to walk in the pouring rain. It’s kind of a strange place, but if you’re into small-​town no-​frills bars and you’re indifferent to ambience, it has its charms.
When you walk in, there’s a large decorative fountain thing kind of randomly placed in the entryway. To the right is the restaurant, although it looks pretty bare-​bones — we’re talking card tables and folding chairs. It feels more like a community center set up for a potluck than a real restaurant. But I digress — off to the left is the bar.
It’s REALLY harshly bright and overlit in there, and the booths are kind of old and sticky; mine had a broken seat that flipped up every time I moved. Our drinks were about $ 5.50 each and were nothing special; my coffee nudge was made with lukewarm, gritty coffee that had definitely been sitting out for a while and it was kinda gross. They have a bar menu, but it’s pretty basic fried bar food, jalapeño poppers and the like.
The place is fairly large and there are some pool tables, a dartboard, and a jukebox toward the back. It definitely seems like a locals’ hangout where the regulars knew the bartender and just came to hang out. So if you want to avoid the touristy feel of the Long Beach downtown strip and you’re looking for something more authentic, I guess this is it? I can’t say I’d recommend it unless your hotel is 500 feet away and you’re desperate for a drink.

We were staying at the Sou’wester Lodge and because Rod’s was a short walk away, and it was Friday night, and we were craving adult beverages, we decided to check this place out. I was a little reluctant when I saw the neon Seahawks sign in the front window because I was decked out in my Broncos gear, but nobody gave me a hard time. In fact, two of the wait staff confessed to being Denver fans. Score!
Rod’s is exactly as described: a dive bar. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. The drinks were strong, and a burger and tater tots were above average. Service was no-​nonsense but friendly. There are a couple of pool tables, darts, a pinball machine, trivia, and a jukebox. The adjoining room is dedicated to karaōke, and that was in full swing while we were there. Boy, was it.
The ambience is dated, and the place could use a facelift. But we had a good enough time, and everybody was accommodating — even though it was obvious we weren’t locals. Not a bad place to go if you want to escape the touristy vibe of places like Castaways Grille in Long Beach.

Great breakfasts for a very reasonable price. Real bone in ham thick cut perfectly browned. Hash browns homemade and also browned and perfectly cooked with two eggs cooked perfectly to order. Did I mention this was a perfect breakfast and all for $ 8.00. Can’t beat this anywhere on the Peninsula.

I saw six $ 7.50 Martinis. The body count? Eight fruit flys and an ant. Yuck.

I’m totally a fan of this dive bar. The food was really good and greasy and they have fish and chips specials: all you can eat on certain nights of the week! Totally a great value if you are a big fan of fish ‘n chips! My fiancé had about two or three rounds. I had a really good and juicy cheeseburger. They had specials on pitchers of beer (about $ 12) and they had karaōke going in the other room. It’s a really laid back atmosphere and the service was prompt and served with warm smiles.
I’ll definitely go back if I’m ever in the area again.

This is the «sister» location, or should I say «ex-​wife» location to Rod’s in Warrenton, OR. We have always been a fan of Rod’s in Warrenton, so after a day on the peninsula, we popped in here for supper. Identical menu, so we figured that it would be comparable to the food and service that we get in Warrenton. WRONG!!!
Big place!!! Oddly placed, Kuan Yin statue at the door lends one to think it was a former Chinese establishment. According to an employee, the only thing she new about the building was that there was a large fire that killed a few folks who lived in it back in the day. There was no knowledge of any Asian connection to the building. The mystery lingers… (moooahahahah).
Food was disappointing. Here, they seemed to cut corners more. The oysters, while fresh at Rod’s in Warrenton, were frozen from a box here. Come on!!! This is a fishing area!!! No excuse. Our server was one of the crustiest, bitchy, and inattentive servers I have had in a long while. I now know where the inspiration for The Sea Hag Bar was discovered. (eeeek). Very unfriendly vibe here as well. Just sort of dull and quiet.
May give them another shot if in the area and pushed for time, but really, it is just as easy to stay closer to home and get better service at the Warrenton location. Sad, because they have great daily /​nightly specials and fair prices, but it is just not worth my time if we aren’t going to get decent service.

This is an incredible restaurant in Long Beach. The appearance may turn you away, but don’t fear… My boyfriend and I had the Monday special– burger basket for $ 4.99. It was scrumptious– a ¼ pound burger with lettuce, tomato, onions, special sauce, and pickles on the side. It came with either homemade french fries or homemade chips. Yummy! We had the fries; they were fresh and delicious. We dipped them in homemade fry sauce and I asked for a side of ranch. They gave me a nice sized portion of ranch that was homemade buttermilk ranch.
The key word for this place is homemade. (and cheap). They have specials every night. The waiter was timely, attentive, and friendly.
This is a must eat restaurant in Long Beach! Delectable!